The Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, has urged global leaders to adopt an inclusive global approach to AI that gives people the ability to understand, shape and benefit from the technology.
Abdullahi made the call during a high-level dialogue on technology, innovation and social business for sustainable and inclusive development at the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York. The session brought together political leaders, development advocates and technology stakeholders, including UNGA President Khalilur Rahman, Timor-Leste President José Ramos-Horta, Bhutanese Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay and Nobel Peace Laureate Muhammad Yunus.
The NITDA chief argued that discussions around AI should move beyond simply expanding access to technology. He said people must also have representation in the systems being developed and the agency to influence how the technology is used and create value from it.
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“Inclusive AI requires representation and access—and access must mean agency, not just consumption,” Abdullahi said.
He used agriculture to illustrate how AI could expand access to expertise for Nigerians, including farmers who could use the technology for information on weather, soil conditions, crop problems and market opportunities.
“The promise of AI is not that every Nigerian becomes an AI expert. It is that AI can put expertise within the reach of every Nigerian,” he said.
Abdullahi outlined four pillars of Nigeria’s approach to inclusive AI development: Connect, Skill, Compute and Create. He linked the framework to efforts to expand connectivity, build digital and technical skills, strengthen cloud and AI computing capabilities, and enable entrepreneurs to develop technology solutions for local challenges.
The NITDA DG also highlighted digital sovereignty, saying Nigeria’s objective was not to isolate itself technologically but to build the capacity to ensure AI systems can understand Nigerian data, contexts and nuances, comply with local laws and reflect the country’s culture and values.
He called for stronger cooperation between governments, technology companies and citizens. According to Abdullahi, governments should provide infrastructure, clear policies and regulatory certainty while protecting citizens, while technology companies should invest in local computing capacity, knowledge transfer, talent development and African datasets, languages, researchers and innovators.
Accountability was another focus of his address as AI becomes increasingly involved in areas including healthcare, livelihoods, rights and public services.
“We can delegate tasks to machines. We cannot delegate accountability,” Abdullahi said.
His comments come as international discussions around AI governance increasingly focus on ensuring developing countries have a meaningful role in shaping global rules. The President of the 81st UN General Assembly has also identified inclusive AI governance, access to AI capacity and infrastructure, safety, accountability and human oversight among the priorities for international cooperation.
For Nigeria, the call for an inclusive global approach to AI places emphasis not only on access to existing AI tools but also on building local capacity to develop and shape the technology. Abdullahi said Nigeria remained committed to an AI ecosystem in which Nigerians become creators rather than merely consumers of AI.
The NITDA DG said the success of the AI era should ultimately be measured by its ability to expand human potential and improve lives, rather than solely by advances in machine intelligence.
Lawrence Orjime is an AI and technology writer at AIBase.ng, covering the latest developments in artificial intelligence, emerging technologies, and the companies shaping the future of AI.
With a background in content strategy, SEO, and digital media, Lawrence Orjime combines technology reporting with a strong understanding of what makes information useful and easy to find online.